Say Anything
by Nicole16
Summary: When Lizzie talks to Gordo on the phone for the first time in almost a year, will she find out that he's changed or the same person she's always known?LG UPDATED 84
1. Prologue

k, so here it is... enjoy. remember to review :) btw, don't own anything ;) xoxo nikki

PROLOGUE  
  
They say high school will change you. But for Lizzie McGuire, that wasn't the case. In fact, if you compared the way Lizzie looked now with how she looked a year ago, she would look almost exactly the same. The same thing would happen if it were the way her life was or her personality or her grades or who she was friends with was what was being compared. With a few small exceptions, of course, like the fact that she was a year older and maybe a shoe size bigger, Lizzie was the exact same girl she'd always been.  
  
Her hair was still longe and blonde, her eyes still brown, and the style of clothes Lizzied loved and wore didn't change. She still lived in a four bedroom house with her sometimes embarrassing but always loving parents and her annoying little brother, Matt, who was now twelve. Lizzie was still very friendly yet somewhat shy and self-conscious of everything she did, still overall a good person with a good heart. She still got all As and Bs, mostly Bs (but still). And she was still best friends, of course, with Miranda Sanchez and David Gordon.  
  
With one minor difference: Gordo didn't live in Hillridge anymore.  
  
It had all happened so fast, it all seemed like a blur to Lizzie. She and Gordo had just come back from their school trip to Rome the summer after eighth grade ended, just about to start talking about maybe having a friendship a little more than friendship. The last thing either of them was expecting was to come home to a For Sale sign on Gordo's front lawn, right next door to Lizzie's house. Howard, Gordo's father, had been immediately transferred to New York City, and he was bringing his family with him.  
  
By the time Miranda had made it home to Hillridge from her own summer vacation trip to Mexico City, Gordo was gone. True love had never had its chance. Lizzie's heart was broken and she was a mess for weeks. No amount of midnight chats over hot chocolate with her mom and no amount of sleepovers and mall trips and strawberry banana smoothies with Miranda could fix the first real heartache Lizzie had ever experienced.   
  
And then, slowly, she began to feel better. She cried less and less each day, laughed more and more each day, and eventually adjusted to the fact that Gordo was gone. Even so, every day when she signed online and Gordo's e-mail address popped up in her e-mail box, she coulnd't help letting a little tear slide down her cheek or feeling that little pang in her chest she got when she heard from someone she loved who lived far away. But soon, she was better.   
  
For some odd reason, Lizzie and Gordo had never talked on the phone since the day he left. Maybe because there was never time, or maybe because they both thought it would hurt too much to hear each other's voice again, letting all of those horrible feelings of homesickness for each other come flooding back. They e-mailed each other every day, but never called.   
  
Until one day, almost a year later, on their last day of ninth grade.


	2. Chapter One

hey guys... hope you're enjoying this... please remember to review: all comments are appreciated. still don't own anything. xoxo, nikki

CHAPTER ONE  
  
It was finally the last day of ninth grade, and me and Miranda decided to walk home instead of riding the bus like we usually did. The thought of three months of total freedom from snotty cheerleaders, nasty teachers, tests, and homework had us a little more hyper than usual. We decided that it would be a good way to get some of our energy out.   
  
"I am so glad we are done with our first year of high school," I said as we walked, kicking a rock along the sidewalk. "Last year, I was so scared of going to a new school. Now I know it's no big deal."  
  
"So. What's going to be our first act of summer vacation?" Miranda asked, kicking the rock back to me. "Sleepover party, the mall, or the Digital Bean?"   
  
"I don't know... what about the movies?" I suggested. "There's supposed to be a new one with Hilary Duff coming out soon that looks really good."   
  
"I don't think that comes out 'til July," Miranda replied. "I guess that's one good thing about Gordo being gone. We can go see as many chick flicks as we want without having to hear him complaining the whole time."  
  
"I kind of miss it," I admitted. "Yeah, he complained, but he always went along with whatever we wanted to see. Not many guys will go see Legally Blonde three times in a row with two girls who say the lines along with the characters."  
  
"You're right about that," Miranda agreed. "So how is he?"   
  
I was the one person in Hillridge Gordo kept in constant contact with since he moved. He and Miranda only e-mailed once or twice a month, but me and Gordo e-mailed once or twice daily. I knew all about every detail of his new life, and he knew every detail about my old one. Despite the thousands of miles between us, we were still best friends and as close as we'd always been. Not quite as close as I wanted us to be, but that was another story.  
  
"He's fine," I replied. "Today was his last day of school, too. He even told me he'd call me tonight."   
  
Miranda's eyes grew wide. "He said he'd CALL you?" she asked, just to make sure she'd heard me right.   
  
You wouldn't think that a best friend talking on the phone with her best friend would be such a big deal. But in my case, this would be the first time I'd heard Gordo's voice in almost a year. Before he moved, we were definite phone people, almost never e-mailing since we saw each other every day without fail. But now that things were different, e-mailing was all we ever did.  
  
"That's what he said," I answered, nodding. "So I guess I better make sure I'm home in case he does. I'd probably kill myself for missing his call."  
  
"I would kill you, too," Miranda said. "If he calls, I want to hear everything. Take notes if you have to."  
  
We stopped in front of my house, right next door to the house that used to belong to Gordo. I looked up at it and sighed heavily, just like I did every day.   
  
"Well, I guess I'll talk to you later, then," I said before turning to walk up my driveway. "Don't call me, I'll call you."   
  
"Bye!" I heard her call as I opened my front door, letting myself in.  
  
"I'm home!" I yelled, locking the door behind me and running upstairs to my bedroom. When I got there, I took great pleasure in stuffing my backpack into my closet for its summer of hibernation. Then, I turned on the radio and flopped down on my bed to read my new issue of Cosmogirl.  
  
A little while later, while I was in the middle of finding out what the best bathing suit for my bust size (or lack thereof) was, my mom popped her head in the door.  
  
"Hi, sweetie," she said with a smile. "How was your last day of school? Did you do well on all your finals?"   
  
"I think so," I replied, not really paying much attention to what she was saying. At any rate, I had just figured out that I should stay away from tankinis altogether.  
  
"That's good," Mom answered. "Well, listen. I'll be right back. I just have to go to the grocery store to pick up a few things. Matt's going straight to Lanny's after school, and your dad's still at work."  
  
"Okay," I said as I turned the page. Oh, good. Embarrassing moments. Reading these always makes me feel really good about myself. Alone in my room, I went back to my mindless reading session.  
  
Not too much later, I was interrupted again by the ringing of the phone. This time, I was quite absorbed in a story about a girl who had laughed so hard at a joke her biggest crush had cracked (which, she admitted, wasn't really even that funny) that she wet her pants. Now, I have done some pretty heinous things in my time, but none of them could measure up to that little incident.  
  
I grabbed the cordless phone off of my nightstand and hit talk, not really remembering that Gordo was supposed to call. I just figured it was Mom, calling from the grocery store to ask me what kind of cereal I wanted or something. "Hello?"   
  
"Hey."   
  
It was HIM. As soon as I heard his voice, my heart stopped. He sounded exactly as he had a year ago-- the same old Gordo, my same old best friend who I knew absolutely everything about, who knew absolutely everything about me.   
  
"Hey," I answered brightly, unable to help the fact that a huge smile was already on my face. "Oh my gosh. You have no idea how glad I am you called." Heck with Cosmogirl and the Betsy Wetsy chick-- I was on the phone with Gordo!  
  
"Well, I didn't want a year to go by without talking to you again," he replied. "You sound exactly the same. Really happy."   
  
"So do you!" I said with a little laugh. "I can't believe I'm actually talking to you! On the phone, I mean. It feels like it's been ages."  
  
"It HAS been ages."  
  
"So, how are you doing?" I asked. "How was your last day of school, and your finals?"   
  
"Pretty good, actually," Gordo answered. "A lot better than I expected. What about yours?"   
  
"Okay. I could have done worse. My world geography one was really hard, though. I'm pretty sure I failed."  
  
"I'm sure you did fine," Gordo assured me. "You were never quite as smart as I was, but you're okay for a dumb blonde."  
  
I laughed. "If you weren't a million miles away, I'd have to slap you."   
  
"So how's Miranda?" he asked, ignoring my last little comment. "Is she going to be totally jealous that I called you and not her?"   
  
"Not totally. Actually, she was next to astonished that you would be calling me at all. But she's fine."  
  
There was somewhat of an awkward silence between us for a few seconds. But then, Gordo asked, "did I call at a good time? It's 7:30 here."   
  
"Yeah, it's 4:30 here," I replied. "Actually, it's nice to have somebody to talk to. I'm home by myself, so... Hey, have you seen any good movies lately?"   
  
That sparked the conversationalist in Gordo to come out of his shell. Never again during our phone call was there a lull in conversation. We talked about anything and everything, those three hours quicking becoming the three best hours I'd had in a long time.   
  
At 7:30, my mom came in and asked me who I'd been talking to on the phone with that I hadn't heard her call me for dinner. That's when I knew it was time for me to get off the phone.  
  
"Um, Gordo," I said reluctantly. "I gotta go. Do you wanna call me tomorrow or something?"  
  
"Sure," he replied. "It was really good talking to you again."   
  
"It was really good talking to you again, too," I was silent for a few second afterwards, and then, "hey, Gordo?"   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"Love you."   
  
I could practically hear Gordo smile. "Love you, too."   
  
Then we hung up, and I felt light and so happy, just like I could up and fly away like Tinkerbell.


	3. Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO "So, all you guys talked about was school and movies?" Miranda asked in disbelief. We were at the Digital Bean for lunch and smoothies the next afternoon while I told her all about my fabulous phone call with Gordo the night before. "You don't talk to the guy for a year and all you talk about is SCHOOl and MOVIES?" "It wasn't a year," I protested. Miranda was being so unfair. She had no idea what she was talking about! "It was eleven months and 25 days. Besides, that wasn't ALL we talked about. We also discussed... the time difference." "Oh. Excuse me." Miranda rolled her eyes. "I forgot about the time difference. That's changed the situation completely in my mind." "Shut up, Miranda," I said, taking a sip of my strawberry banana smoothie. "If you were actually listening to me, you would know that I haven't told you the best part yet." "Okay," Miranda said as the waitress came and took our empty plates. "Tell me the best part then." "Okay," I replied, taking a deep breath. "Right before we hung up, I was like, 'Love you,' and he was like, 'Love you, too'!" We had our girly squeal and then paid the bill and started walking home. "I wonder if he's gonna come visit during the summer?" Miranda contemplated aloud as we stepped outside into the warm sunshine. "I never really thought about it," I replied. "You think his parents would be up to that sort of thing? They never struck me as the... traveling type." "Well, you never know," Miranda said. "Maybe when he calls tonight you should bring up the subject. You know, ask him what he's doing this summer and then just work it in." "All right. I'll try," I answered. "How cool would that be? I mean, if you really think about it, it would be kind of weird, too." "Yeah, it would," Miranda agreed thoughtfully. "Like, not hanging out with him for almost a year, and then hanging out with him all the time for a week or two?" We walked inside my house. "Or, like, what if he's different?" I added. "Like, he didn't sound different on the phone, but what if when we see him in real life, he looks and acts totally different? What if he let New York City get to his head and thinks he's better than us just because he's from a big city?" We walked into my room and sat down on my bed. "Gordo's not like that," Miranda said. "Besides, I don't think he'd change. It's only been a year." "A year is a long time," I reminded her. "Have we changed?" Miranda questioned. I thought about it for a second. "No," I replied. "At least, I don't think so. Do you think I've changed?" "No," she answered. "Have I?" "No." The phone rang. Miranda grabbed it first and answered it. "Hello?" What was she doing answering my phone? She didn't even live here. She couldn't do that... could she? "Hey," she was saying warmly to the person on the other end of the line. "How are you? What's up? I thought you weren't calling til tonight... That's what Lizzie said." Oh, it was Gordo. "You wanna talk to Miss Paranoia?" Miranda was asking. Definitely talking about me. "Okay. Here she is." She removed the phone from her ear and handed it to me. I took the phone from Miranda. "Hey, Gordo," I said. "What's up?" "Why'd Miranda call you Miss Paranoia?" he wanted to know. "Oh, it's nothing," I replied. "Just something we were talking about earlier. So what's up? I thought you were calling tonight or something." "Well, I kinda have something to tell you," he said, "and I didn't wanna wait til tonight." My heartbeat quickened its pace. Was this it? Was Gordo finally gonna confess his undying love for me once and for all? Were we finally going to get to live happily ever after forever and ever? "Yeah?" "I was talking to my mom and dad this morning," he began,"and they said that it would be okay if you wanted to come up for a week or two this summer." My jaw dropped. Not exactly what I was expecting, but still very good. "That would be awesome!" I exclaimed. Miranda looked at me, wanting to know what exactly was so awesome. "Oh my gosh! I'm totally gonna ask my parents the second they get home!" "Great. Well, I gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow?" "Yeah." "K. It's your turn to call me, remember?" I smiled. "I remember." Then, I took a deep breath, and in a very brave moment, added, "Love you." The problem was, Gordo said it at the same time I did. We both laughed, and then we hung up. I turned to Miranda. "He invited me to stay with him in New York this summer for a week or two!" I announced to her excitedly. "And he didn't invite me?" Miranda pretended to be upset. "You're going to be in Mexico City this weekend," I reminded her. "Could you imagine me in New York City? All the fabulous shopping... they have a Manolo Blahnik store there!" "Well, you better not buy any expensive French or Italian or whatever-they-are shoes without getting me a pair, too!" Miranda warned. "You are gonna have such an awesome time. I'm so jealous." "Don't worry, because I'm not sure there's anything for you to be jealous of yet," I reminded her. "I have to get my parents to let me go first, and I highly doubt that they will. I mean, going on a plane all the way to the biggest, busiest city in the country by myself does not sound like something my parents would let me do. You know them." "Yeah, but last summer, they let you go to Rome by yourself. And that was out of the country." Miranda brought up a good point, but not good enough. "I wasn't as alone going to Rome as I will be going to New York," I replied. "I had someone on the plane with me, an adult someone, and I was surrounded by people I knew... and going to New York would be totally different." Miranda looked thoughtful for a minute. "What if I had a plan that would make your parents okay with sending you to New York without an adult on the plane with you?" This was interesting. "Okay..." "Well, you know how I'm going on a plane by myself on Saturday ahead of my parents?" she asked. I sighed. "Miranda, you know my parents don't go for that kind of stuff. Just because your parents are letting you go to Mexico City by yourself doesn't mean that it will make my parents want to let me go to New York City by myself." Now Miranda sighed. "I'm not finished yet. Anyway, if you left on Saturday with me, we could take the same plane to Atlanta and then you could take your plane to New York City and I can take my plane to Mexico City. That way, you'll only be alone for, like, two hours." That could work. "You know what? That might be the absolute best idea you've had your entire life." Miranda smiled. "I always knew I was a genius." I couldn't help rolling my eyes. "Let's not go that far yet," I told her. "We both know that this is a good idea. But how are we gonna get my parents to think that it's a good idea, too?" Miranda shrugged. "Your parents trust you," she said. "And hopefully, they trust me. They've known Gordo as long as they've known you, and they've known his parents longer. I'm pretty sure that there's no way they can say no. Our plan is flawless. It was my idea, after all." I heard the front door open, which meant that Mom and Dad were home from shopping for a new refrigerator. Time to face the music and get this over with. I turned to Miranda. She nodded, knowing exactly what I was thinking. "Let's go," she said. 


	4. Chapter Three

hey guys... thanks for the reviews even tho there's only 5 of them :D keep on reading and keep on reviewing. if you read, please just review and let me know, b/c i wanna see how much interest this story's generating. here, to make it easy on you-- if you read this far and you liked it, copy and paste this into the review box: i read it-- good. if you read this far and you didn't like it (why are you still reading it?! lol) copy and paste this into the review box: i read it-- bad. thanks. xoxo, nikki also, u can e-mail me ) or IM me (xgonnabfamous) if you wanna talk about the story personally.  
  
CHAPTER THREE  
  
"Mom! Dad!" I cried, trying to sound as enthusiastic as humanly possible, as I ran down the stairs, Mirnda not too far behind me. "I am so glad you're home! I missed you guys so much. So did you have a nice day? Did you find a good fridge?"  
  
Mom glanced at Dad, and then looked back at us. We were still standing on the stairs, me with a huge smile on my face, trying to appear genuinely interested in the make and model of our new refridgerator. Um, yes, we did," she responded slowly. "It's going to be delivered on Tuesday."  
  
"That's great!" I replied, grinning. "I'm so glad you guys found something you'd like to put in our kitchen! I was so worried it would be a stressful afternoon for you, although I personally find shopping for kitchen appliances quite relaxing..." Okay, so maybe I was laying it on a little thick, but my life was on the line!  
  
"Um, Lizzie?" It was Dad's turn to speak. "We know you want something. Why don't you save yourself some time and come right out and ask us for it?" I had to hand it to him. At times, my dad can be a bit dense, but he is quite receptive... most of the time.  
  
"Well, okay," I said, not breaking my salesperson-on-a-mission smile for anything. "You guys might wanna sit down for this. Why don't we go into the living room?"  
  
Mom and Dad exchanged another concerned glance but walked ahead of us into the living room anyway.  
  
Miranda turned to escape out of the front door, knowing as well as I did that in all likelihood, this was not going to turn out a very pretty scene. But before she could, I grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her back in.  
  
"You are not getting out of this," I whispered through my teeth. "Are you kidding me? I need you to back up my plan and tell my parents how safe the airlines are."  
  
We walked into the living room. My parents had already seated themselves on the couch, and I signaled for Miranda to sit on the armchair to my right. I was prepared. I had back-up. I could totally do this.  
  
Let the games begin.  
  
"Okay," I began with a big (but not too big) smile, taking a deep breath as I took a second to get all my thoughts together. "So. I had a phone call with Gordo this... awhile ago, and he--"  
  
"Gordo called?" Mom interrupted, which I fully did not appreciate. "I thought you guys only talked online."  
  
"Oh, well, lately we've been talking on the phone, too," I informed her, reminding myself silently to be pleasant with Mom. It was hard, but also the only way I was gonna convince her to let me go. "Anyway, um, as I was saying... Gordo invited me to go stay with him for a week or two this summer, and I'd really like to go."  
  
"You think we're gonna let you go to New York City by yourself?" Dad asked in disbelief. "On a plane-- by yourself? Did you know you have to change planes in Atlanta?"  
  
"Yes," I answered patiently. "But, of course, I never expected you to allow me to gain such a big dose of independence all at once. You are much too responsible parents to let their daughter do something so dangerous all by herself."  
  
Over in her corner, Miranda was stifling a laugh. I took a moment to glare at her, and then continued. "In fact, honestly I wouldn't want to do all of this completely by myself. I would be putting myself in a position that would make me feel very uncomfortable, and that wouldn't be right for the first time I traveled across the country on my own."  
  
Mom was smiling with a little satisfaction written on her face, as if she knew exactly where this was going. "And I suppose you have a plan to avoid this?" she asked.  
  
"Actually, I do," I replied. "If I leave Saturday, I can take the plane to Atlanta with Miranda when she's on her way to Mexico City. Then she can help me find my gate, since she's passed through the Atlanta airport at least a million times. I wouldn't be on the plane to New York City alone for more than two hours, and as soon as I stepped off the plane, I would be with Gordo and his parents."  
  
Before Dad could answer with the immediate no I was expecting, Mom spoke. "Your father and I will discuss this, and then once we've come to a conclusion, we will let you know." Very professional, very businesslike.  
  
I smiled, also being very professional and businesslike. "Thank you for listening to what I had to say. I appreciate your time and careful consideration in making your final decision." Then me and Miranda dashed upstairs to my bedroom.  
  
"Well, if they say yes, it will be nice to have someone sitting beside me on the plane who doesn't carry a briefcase," Miranda said. "It's a long flight to Atlanta."  
  
"I hope they say yes," I stated the obvious. "I need to go on this trip. Seeing Gordo again will make me feel better about the fact that he has this fabulous life and I'm stuck in a town where nothing happens."  
  
"Things happen here!" Miranda said defensively. "Maybe not exciting things, but things still happen."  
  
"Give it a rest, Miranda," I told her. "We live in boring little Hillridge, and you know it. Besides, I need to see him in person to see for myself that he hasn't changed, you know? I miss him."  
  
Miranda suddenly got a very sneaky smile on her face. "You still like him, don't you?" she asked, appearing very satisfied with herself. "You still like him, and you think things will happen on this trip."  
  
"No, I don't," I lied, knowing darn well that Miranda could tell I was lying. "Okay, so maybe I do. But you never know what could happen..."  
  
Just then, we heard a knock at the door, and I shut my mouth fast before Mom walked in the room.  
  
"Okay, Lizzie," Mom began, taking in a deep breath. "Your father and I have thought and talked a good bit about this, and we have decided that, as long as you are willing to meet our demands, you may go stay with Gordo in New York City."  
  
I let out a scream of delight. "Oh my gosh!" I cried. "I'm going to New York City! I'm going to New York City! Thank you so much, Mom. You are so not gonna regret this. I swear, you are the best mom that ever lived!"  
  
Mom smiled. "I already knew that," she said, laughing. "But don't get too excited yet. You haven't heard what the demands your father and I want you to meet are."  
  
I put my celebration on pause for a minute to humor Mom, my mom, this great lady. "Okay. What are your demands?"  
  
"All right," Mom replied, getting back to business. "We want to call Miranda's parents and make sure that this plan is okay with them. We also want a phone call with Gordo's parents. And in the airport in Atlanta, I don't want you and Miranda to separate until you absolutely have to."  
  
"Is that it?" I asked expectantly.  
  
Mom nodded. "That's it."  
  
I grinned, jumping up off my bed and throwing my arms around my mother. "Thank you so, so, so, so much," I thanked her again. "I swear, for as long as I live, I will never forget this."  
  
Mom sighed. "I have a feeling I won't, either," she said, pulling loose of my grip . "Listen, girls, I'm going to go order a pizza. Miranda, would you like to stay for dinner?"  
  
"I'd never turn down free food," Miranda replied as Mom left, purposefully using a Gordo line.  
  
"Well, you're right about one thing, Miranda," I said to one of my best friends with a smile. "There will always be a part of Gordo that will never change. Mostly because it's living inside of us."  
  
Miranda laughed. "I'm right about one thing?" she questioned, smirking. "Ha! I'm right about everything!"  
  
I launched a pillow at her head. "I'm going to New York City!" I yelled as loud as I could, dancing and twirling around my room with all the joy in the world.  
  
"You're going to New York City!" Miranda echoed, with an equal amount of enthusiasm, dancing and twirling around with me.  
  
Not another second of oblivious fun passed before it hit me. All fell silent. I sat down on my bed slowly, so I could digest the day's events. "Oh my gosh," I whispered, suddenly becoming silent. "I'm going to New York City." 


End file.
